Willingness of WHO staff to work in health emergencies in the African Region: opportunity for phased deployment of staff and ensure continuity of health services

A human resource base that ensures appropriate deployment of staff to emergencies, addressing different shock events in emergencies, without disrupting continuity of service is germane to a successful response. Consequently, the WHO Health Emergencies programme in the African Region, in collaboration with Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC) launched the African Volunteer Health Corps (AVoHC) and Strengthening and Utilization of Response Group for Emergencies (SURGE), an initiative aimed at ensuring a pool of timely responders. We explored the willingness of WHO staff to work in emergencies. A call for expression of interest to be part of the Elite Emergency Experts (Triple E) was published on 5th July 2022 via email and was open for 5 weeks. The responses were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics and presented with graphic illustrations. A total of 1253 WHO staff, from all the six WHO regions, cutting across all cadre, applied to the call. The applicants had various trainings and experiences in emergency and have responded to mostly disease outbreaks. Two-third of the applicants were males. This paper did not explore reasons for the willingness to work in emergencies. However, contrary to fears expressed in literature that health workers would not want to work in emergencies with potential for infections, the applicants have worked mostly in infectious emergencies. Literature identified some themes on factors that could impact on willingness of health workers to work in emergencies. These include concerns for the safety of the responders and impact of partners, child and elderly care, as well as other family obligations, which emergency planners must consider in planning emergency response.

Knowledge, fear, and willingness to accept covid-19 vaccine among residents of Gere lga, Borno state, Nigeria

Background: Coronavirus (COVID-19) which emerged from Wuhan, Hubei province, China has gained tremendous attention. It has caused huge morbidity and mortality as well as a visible psychological burden on communities across the globe. Knowledge, fear, and willingness to accept COVID-19 Vaccine are reported to be serious factors in the fight against the disease in many communities for which Jere LGA, Maiduguri, Borno State, may not be an exception. Objectives: To determine the Knowledge, fear, and willingness to accept the COVID-19 Vaccine among the residents of Jere LGA, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. Methodology:Adescriptive cross-sectional study design was adopted for this study. Atotal of 384 questionnaires were administered in this study. However, only 367 questionnaires were retrieved for analysis. The sampling technique adopted for this study was multistate sampling techniques. Results: The findings of the study revealed that the majority (67.8%) of the respondents had poor knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccine. On the question of COVID-19 fear, 50.1% had moderate fear. Regarding the vaccination status of the respondents, 93.5% did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine jab and 6.5% did receive the vaccine as of the time of this study. Of the 367 respondents, 78.2% were unwilling to accept the COVID-19 vaccine, if made available to them. Conclusions: The study concluded that there is poor knowledge, and moderate fear and the majority of respondents were unwilling to receive or accept the COVID-19 vaccine in the study area. Therefore, this study recommends a comprehensive awareness campaign on the importance of the COVID-19 vaccine at the community level.

Menstrual hygiene management in public high schools in Ghana

in the ten (10) regions of Ghana. The findings showed that most girls in Public Senior High Schools in Ghana had prior knowledge about menstruation from their mothers and sisters prior to menarche. It was revealed that majority of the girls mentioned hormones as the cause of menstruation, whilst others mentioned the uterus, bladder, vagina, and other parts of the female reproductive system. A few of them had no idea what causes menstruation. The findings again revealed that most girls use sanitary pads, while some use other materials during menstruation. Less than half of the sample of girls in this study were able to change their pads twice daily or more. About half of the girls cleansed their genital parts only when bathing during menstruation using soup and water mostly. Half of the schools used public tap/standpipe as their main source of water and the rest used other sources of water. Also, most schools have toilet facilities. Some useful recommendations are proffered with the aim of improving MHM in public high schools in Ghana

Pandemics, professionalism and the duty of care: Concerns from the coalface

It is likely that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic will affect a large part of the world's population and will last for several years. Many critical ethical issues have arisen in the healthcare context. While response from healthcare professionals to participating in the care of patients in the era of COVID-19 has generally been positive, there have also been disturbing experiences on the ground. The practice of medicine is a social contract with humanity. Challenges have arisen because the patient is both a victim and a vector of the coronavirus. All humans should have a natural instinct to care for those in need. Ethically and legally, healthcare professionals cannot be expected to assume a significant and unreasonable risk of harm. While fear is understandable, altruism and interest in serving the sick exemplify the value of solidarity. Social harms like stigmatisation and discrimination can occur. Concerns have been raised regarding protection of privacy and respect for rights of infected individuals. In the era of COVID-19, fear, misinformation and a detachment from one's calling put professionalism strongly to the test

Fears and perceptions associated with regional anesthesia in a tertiary institution in North Central Nigeria

Regional anaesthesia is conducted for many surgical procedures. This study was undertaken prospectively to access patients fears, perception and satisfaction of regional anaesthesia(RA) in the perioperative period. It was a prospective cross-sectional survey of 94 patients with American society of anesthesiologist (ASA) physical status class I and II between the ages 18 and 80 years scheduled for surgery under regional anaesthesia. After patients consented to the regional anaesthetic technique, the patients were asked to fill a structured questionnaire composed of the patients' demographic data and questions relating to fears about regional anaesthesia. Post-operatively patients were assessed if they were satisfied. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences [SPSS software version-23]. Ninety-four patients were studied and their responses analysed. The mean age was 39±16.2 and 78.7% were females. The most common fear observed was the fear of loss of control during surgery (58.2%). While patients had the least fear of postoperative nausea and vomiting(25.5%). Thirteen(13.8%) of patients were dissatisfied with the regional anaesthesia. The most common reason was due to paresthesia (5.3%). Males had more fear of back injury from RA(50%), p=0.026. There was a positive correlation between patients satisfaction and future choice of RA rs=0.320, p=0.002. Fear of regional anaesthesia is still high in our environment and the level of dissatisfaction with RA is relatively high. Therefore, there is a need for pre-anaesthetic clinics to provide better understanding of regional anesthesia

HIV prevention needs for men who have sex with men in Swaziland

Men who have sex with men (MSM) have a high HIV burden and also often face multiple other challenges accessing HIV services, including legal and social issues. Although Swaziland recently started responding with interventions for MSM, significant gaps still exist both in information and programming. This study aimed to explore the HIV prevention needs of MSM in Swaziland, including factors elevating their risks and vulnerabilities to HIV infection; to find out what HIV prevention strategies exist; and to determine how best to meet the prevention needs of MSM. A total of 50 men who reported anal sex with other men in the past 12 months were recruited through simple respondent driven sampling. They completed either a structured quantitative survey (n = 35) or participated in a semi-structured qualitative interview (n = 15). Both quantitative and qualitative findings indicated perceived and experienced stigma among MSM. This predominantly manifested as internalised stigma, which may lead to alcohol abuse and sexual risky behaviours. At least 83% (29/35) of the quantitative sample had been labelled with derogatory terms because of their sexual orientation, while 66% (23/35) had experienced being avoided. There was limited knowledge of risk practices: When asked, 54% (19/35) of quantitative respondents reported that vaginal and anal sex carry an equal risk of HIV infection. Participants also had little knowledge on new HIV prevention methods such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and rectal microbicides. MSM needs included safe spaces in form of drop-in centres and non-hostile HIV services. Although Swaziland recently started interventions for key populations, including MSM, there is still a general lack on information to inform managers and implementers on the HIV prevention needs of MSM in Swaziland. Such information is crucial for designers of official and HIV programmes. Research is needed to increase knowledge on the HIV prevention needs for key populations, including MSM

Monsters in the Dark and Other Scary Things:Preschoolers' Self-Reports

Objective:This study attempted to obtain normative data regarding the content and frequency of expressed fears of a culturally diverse group of 152 South African preschool children (aged 5-7 years). Method: The study employed four measuring instruments: a biographical questionnaire; the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test; and individual drawings of feared objects by participants in conjunction with semi-structured interviews. The data analysis included descriptive statistics based on the themes that emerged from the children's drawings and interviews. Results: Fear of animals was the most commonly expressed fear. Other high-frequency fear categories that emerged were fear of the dark; night and bad dreams; fantasy people; real people; and physical harm. For the group as a whole; the results largely support the existing body of literature. Participants expressed between one and nine fears (f = 429; mean = 2.8). Conclusions: This study contributed to a better understanding of both an under-researched psychological phenomenon; fear; and of an under-researched target group of young children. This knowledge is important in order for significant others; such as parents and caregivers; to understand and effectively mediate potentially stressful experiences of young children in their respective capacities

Fears, coping and perceived efficacy of coping mechanisms among South African children living in childrens homes

Background: The present study examined common childhood fears, coping strategies and perceived efficacy of coping mechanisms among 8- to 13-year-old South African children (n = 141) living in four children's homes.Method: Fears were assessed by means of the Fear List Method (FLM) and the Fear Survey Schedule for Children Revised (FSSC-R). For both measures, the content and number of fears were determined. The FSSC-R was also used to establish the levels of fearfulness, as well as the pattern of fears. Coping strategies and the perceived efficacy of these strategies were assessed by means of open-ended questions.Results: The rank orders of fears as obtained with the FLM were quite different from those derived from the FSSC-R. Girls expressed more fears as well as higher levels of fears than boys. Secondary coping strategies (i.e. seeking social and/or spiritual support) were most often engaged in and were also perceived as most effective.Conclusions: A greater sensitivity to the emotional needs, especially with regard to fears, coping and perceived efficacy, of special populations is recommended

Barriers to HIV Care and Treatment by Doctors : a Review of the Literature

This paper provides a review of the reported barriers that prevent doctors from managing HIV infected patients. The four most commonly reported barriers were: fear of contagion; fear of losing patients; unwillingness to care; and inadequate knowledge /training about treating HIV patients. Barriers to treating HIV infected patients is frequently reported in many countries and it is important for developing countries such as South Africa to learn from these experiences by identifying local problems so that constructive interventions and strategies can be developed to address these barriers; thereby improving the quality of patient care. Further research in respect of the local situation is requiredIntroduction: Over the last two decades acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has emerged as one of the most serious public health problems in the world; and by the end of 2003 it was estimated that 5.3 million South Africans were human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive; which corresponds to 21.5of the population. In the early phase of the HIV epidemic few doctors saw infected patients and treatment options were limited. As a result many doctors were reluctant to provide care to HIV infected patients and homophobia amongst doctors; fear of contact with patients and unwillingness to care were frequently reported. However; there has been an exponential increase in the number of HIV and AIDS related cases and more doctors are encountering infected individuals. This review summarizes our current knowledge of barriers to treatment of HIV infected patients by doctors.Method: A comprehensive literature review was undertaken by searching the MEDLINE database; Psychlit; ISI Web; EBSCOHost; and Sabinet on line; for eng language literature published between 1985 and 2004. The database search terms included keywords such as fear/s; barrier/s; concern; HIV; AIDS; attitudes; physician/s (doctor/s); practice; treatment; care and knowledge. A variety of combinations of these words were entered. All duplicate articles were removed and only studies that used doctors as the sample population were considered. Titles expressing comment; news items; opinion pieces or letters were rejected.Results: Thirty two relevant studies were identified from the literature search. The four most commonly reported barriers were: fear of contagion; fear of losing patients; unwillingness to care; and inadequate knowledge /training about treating HIV patients